Compared to the previous check, the panel now included [Goddess of Fortune's Favor] and [Concealment] among his talents.
The former was copied by Hoshimiya Yuu the day after the Chairman's Daughter Kidnapping Case, when he held Ran's hand.
In his perception, that felt like only a few days ago.
Unlike before, gaining this talent didn't bring him any physical sensation.
Hoshimiya Yuu wasn't surprised. Red-quality talents tended to be conceptual in nature.
For example, [Transmigrator] provided mental reinforcement, [Goddess of Fortune's Favor] boosted luck, and [Protagonist's Halo] ensured smooth actions and escaping danger.
It was normal not to feel physical sensations for conceptual benefits.
Afterward, to test whether this talent could influence the System, he used the Draw opportunity gained from his 'Like' interaction with Ran.
He received the Blue-quality talent [Concealment].
Concealment (Blue): Your observation skills for hidden corners are enhanced. When deliberately hiding, it becomes more difficult for others to discover you.
The Blue-quality talent's effect was decent.
If it had been Purple-quality, he could have confirmed the effect was working.
Conversely, if it had been White-quality, he could have been sure it had no effect, meaning he wasted a copy opportunity.
But since it was the middling Blue-quality…
Hoshimiya Yuu wasn't sure if [Goddess of Fortune's Favor] had taken effect, especially since his own luck wasn't that bad to begin with.
Since the number of Talent Draws was too small, and the talent itself was copied from the System, it was also normal for it not to influence the System.
It was fine even if it didn't influence the System; he was more focused on the talent's impact on his daily luck.
After agonizing for a while, Hoshimiya Yuu went to a street-side lottery shop and bought a dozen lottery tickets.
He wasn't aiming for a big prize; if he just broke even, he could confirm that his luck value had indeed improved.
The next day, Hoshimiya Yuu went to cash in his tickets.
He not only didn't lose money but made a small profit of 1,000 yen.
1,000 yen was only a few dozen Yuan, but Hoshimiya Yuu had never, in both his lives, experienced making a profit from randomly buying a dozen lottery tickets.
The Red-quality talent was certainly powerful.
With this talent, buying lottery tickets daily and earning a small profit of a few dozen yen meant he wouldn't have to worry about food and drink.
However, the Draw effect was better than buying lottery tickets.
Ran often won all sorts of first prizes and grand prizes since childhood, making it commonplace for people around her to hear she had won a jackpot.
Unfortunately, the prizes gained from such draws often couldn't be converted into cash.
If they could, Hoshimiya Yuu wouldn't bother searching for treasures.
The current 9 Draw opportunities were provided by Professor Agasa, Inspector Megure, Detective Takagi, Detective Chiba, Detective Sato, Yoko Okino, and the three kids from the Detective Boys.
Excluding Detective Takagi, whose interaction was Envy, the others were mostly interactions like Fondness and Trust.
As the saying goes, the virtuous gain many supporters, while the unrighteous gain few.
It was better to be loved than hated.
In the absence of conflicting interests, Hoshimiya Yuu preferred to increase affinity to complete interactions.
Now, it was time to verify the actual effect of [Goddess of Fortune's Favor].
Even if he couldn't constantly draw top-tier talents, any noticeable effect would be fine.
[Gained Blue-quality talent: Handsome]
[Gained Purple-quality talent: Perpetual Motion Drum]
[Gained Blue-quality talent: Handsome]
[Gained Blue-quality talent: Ambush]
[Gained White-quality talent: Sweet Slumber]
[Gained Blue-quality talent: Magic Resistance]
[Gained White-quality talent: Sweet Slumber]
[Gained White-quality talent: Drug Resistance]
[Gained Blue-quality talent: Flexibility]
Before Hoshimiya Yuu could examine them one by one, the System notification sounded again.
[Identical talents detected reaching three copies. Merge & Upgrade function enabled.]
['Sweet Slumber (White)' successfully upgraded to 'Deep Sleep (Blue)']
['Handsome (Blue)' successfully upgraded to 'Strikingly Handsome (Purple)']
He had just been wondering what to do with duplicate talents, and now he knew that three identical talents could be merged and upgraded.
As Hoshimiya Yuu was secretly delighted, the System notification sounded again.
[Detected potential fusion between 'Muscle Enhancement (Blue)' and 'Flexibility (Blue)'. Proceed with fusion?]
"Fuse."
Hoshimiya Yuu paused for a moment, then chose to fuse them.
Although this was his first experience with talent fusion, both talents were related to physical conditioning.
No matter how they fused, even if the effect wasn't enhanced, he figured it wouldn't hurt him.
A slightly warm current flowed through his body, and then Hoshimiya Yuu felt a tingling sensation in his joints, as if they had become more flexible.
[Fusion complete. Acquired Purple-quality talent: Pliable Bones and Tendons.]
Hoshimiya Yuu's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected two Blue-quality talents to fuse into a Purple-quality one.
He had seen the Pliable Bones and Tendons talent on Ran; its effect was very strong.
While the increase in physical conditioning might not be much more than the two separate Blue talents, its strength lay in its ability to enhance training effectiveness.
For the same intensity of training, a person with this talent would achieve results far exceeding those without it.
[Detected potential fusion between 'Concealment (Blue)' and 'Ambush (Blue)'. Proceed with fusion?]
"Fuse!"
The fusion prompt sounded again. Hoshimiya Yuu, having already tasted the benefits, chose to fuse them without hesitation this time.
The result didn't disappoint him either.
[Fusion successful. Acquired Purple-quality talent: Presence Suppression.]
After waiting for a moment, the System notification didn't sound again, so Hoshimiya Yuu excitedly began examining the newly acquired talents.
Strikingly Handsome (Purple): Handsome appearance, cheerful demeanor. Affinity and attraction to the opposite sex are greatly enhanced.
Pliable Bones and Tendons (Purple): Bones and tendons possess super-human toughness and strength, dramatically enhancing training effectiveness.
Presence Suppression (Purple): Possesses keen observation of the environment. When deliberately hiding, it's easier to blend into the surroundings, reducing presence and increasing concealment.
Perpetual Motion Drum (Purple): Kidney function is greatly increased. Energy is more abundant, allowing for continuous, all-night combat.
Magic Resistance (Blue): The influence of supernatural powers on you is slightly reduced.
Deep Sleep (Blue): The sleep quality of those in physical contact with you (including yourself) is enhanced, slightly increasing the speed of energy recovery. However, if the target is suffering from insomnia, more physical contact is needed to trigger the effect.
Drug Resistance (White): Immunity is slightly enhanced, and the effect of drugs on you is reduced (regardless of whether they are beneficial or harmful).
After a careful review, Hoshimiya Yuu sighed in relief.
He hadn't drawn any high-level Orange or Red-quality talents, failing to immediately activate 'easy mode' for life, but the favor of [Goddess of Fortune's Favor] still had some effect.
If it had no effect at all, it would be impossible for him to have drawn precisely enough White and Blue talents for the triple-stack upgrade and fusion, out of 9 draws—excluding the final mixed-effect [Drug Resistance].
He even got a Purple-quality talent, [Perpetual Motion Drum].
When he first saw the name, Hoshimiya Yuu thought it was a talent related to drumming and was somewhat disappointed.
After reading the description, he was instantly energized.
He hadn't had the time or opportunity to mess around in this life, and he was currently at the peak of his vital years. His physical vigor and abilities were absolutely top-notch.
But no man would complain about having too-good kidneys.
I thought you were a serious, rigid System, but I didn't realize you had such an indecent talent.
I misjudged you, dear System!
But I love it!